Page 57 of Empire of Death
She stared at it for a moment longer before she gave a nod.
We were about to leave the hallway when one of the servants came by, carrying a silver tray with a bowl in the center. With a back broken in many places, he was bent so far forward that his eyes naturally faced the ground, always almost dropping the tray in his hand. He wheezed when he breathed, like the shape of his spine made it hard for him to pull air into his bent lungs.
Lily didn’t make a sound, but she stepped back and stiffened like she was afraid.
“Your Highness,” he said in greeting as he passed.
I ignored him.
Lily stepped farther back as he approached, being as still as possible, as if she feared he would notice her even though she was invisible to this world. She even tried not to breathe, because when he passed, she gasped for air.
“They can neither see nor hear you,Xivin.”
“I know. I just…forgot.”
I took her through the castle, showed her the artwork made by someone so long ago that no one knew the artist. Passed other servants and other creatures that occupied the underworld. There were so many other places to see, but the castle was enormous, and she already had a grasp of what it contained.
We stepped outside into the courtyard, and the first thing she did was look at the sky.
Nothing but darkness.
There were wisps of clouds level with the castle, condensation that came from the dampness of the trees in the woods. Everything was dead here, but death grew like it had its own life.
“Xianis a mirror image of the mortal world,” I said. “It’s hard to see because it looks so different, but it’s the same. The land and the sea.”
She slowly turned to me, taking longer to process all this than she normally would. It was as if her responses were delayed because of the potency of the constant night. Her eyes had a glaze, like her mortal eyes couldn’t quite process the sight before her. “You said there’s beauty in this place…if you look hard enough.”
I held her gaze for a moment before I stepped forward, taking the steps down to the next level of the castle.
She walked with me, slightly behind, and then we heard another scream that sounded more like a howl coming from somewhere in the castle.
She whipped back to look, like she might see something.
I waited for her to look at me again, seeing her standing in her queen’s uniform and her armor, too good for this place.
She turned back to me, and it was the only time she showed me fear. Real, raw, unadulterated fear. “How does this place work?”
“We serve the Covenant, all in different ways. Some extract souls from the newcomers to maintain the power of the underworld. Some serve them directly to the Covenant, who run this place. Others are tormented slaves for monsters with higher statuses. Some are psychopaths so untouched by misery that they’re completely unaffected by the horrors of this place. To them, it’s home. And there are some mortals down here…willingly.”
She took all this in with eyes that remained fearful. “If the Covenant didn’t receive the souls, what would happen to them?”
“They’d grow weak and eject into the void.”
“So if you were to starve them, they would die…or eject, and you would be free.”
Every time she broached this topic, she pained me. Pained me more than she could ever possibly understand. Especially when she wouldn’t lift a finger to help me if she knew how I’d betrayed her. I wanted to confess my treason, but if I did, she wouldn’t accept my gifts or help…and she might not survive this war. It had to wait until she’d conquered her enemies and peace prevailed for the Southern Isles and her family. “It’s much more complicated than that.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re demons. Strong, powerful demons. Far more powerful than I am. The second I refused to feed their hunger, Iwould be thrown into the void. They would have to starve for a substantial amount of time before they grew weak enough to be overpowered.”
Her disappointment was as thick as a cloud of fog that moved over her eyes.
“Don’t pity me,Xivin.”
She looked away as she took a pained breath.
“Never forget that I chose this. That the decision wasn’t made under duress or misinformation. I had my full faculties when I agreed.”
